Vebos floor stand Amazon Echo Studio black - Compatible with Amazon Echo Studio

Product Information

Whether or not the Echo Studio earns the title of best-sounding smart speaker on the market is up for debate, but I found the audio quality to be leaps and bounds above that of other smart speakers like the Echo Dot, and it's also better than the HomePod Mini. If you want full stereo sound, you can even pair two Echo Studio speakers in one room, and you can also add the Echo Subfor a fuller audio. Although it can be used as a TV speaker, however, it’s worth pointing out that the Echo Studio doesn’t come with a remote control, and this poses problems when it comes to the simple task of adjusting the volume. Simply put, the only way of adjusting the volume of the speaker when it’s connected via the optical input is to ask Alexa to do it or walk up to it and use the physical controls on the speaker. You can’t use the volume control in the Alexa app to do that, although weirdly it does work for streaming music.

Again, it can't produce a true surround sound field that completely wraps around you, but the Echo Studio offers some impressive stereo imaging and forward-facing verticality that gives the impression of a pair of stereo speakers with additional upward-firing drivers. At high volumes, the speaker fills the room easily, bringing the exciting thunder of guitar strums and drumrolls while letting Bellamy's voice come through clearly. When he sings that no one's going to take him alive, his voice can be heard directly in center, while the harmonies can be placed in the distance, to the left and right. (unknown) Editors' Note: This is still the most recent version of the Echo Studio. Read our original review from November 6, 2019 below. The Echo Studio tries to do some impressive things with its five drivers and 3D audio mixing. It doesn't quite succeed to the extent that an Atmos-compatible soundbar can, or an even more expensive Atmos surround sound system, but at that point you'll be spending several times the price of the Studio for the improved audio imaging. As it stands, the Echo Studio puts out a large sound field with modest but surprising directionality.

Bottom line

Getting directional audio to work and be immersive is difficult. Doing it from a single speaker source is even more challenging. It sounds big, goes loud and there's a good level of detail and dynamics. We're not convinced entirely by the way it handles bass, and we wouldn't exactly call it audiophile quality, but for the money, the Echo Studio has a lot going for it.

The Studio is also capable of a little processing wizardry to add height to stereo mixes – simply keep the 'upmixing' setting enabled on the Alexa app. But don’t expect the same quality of results you’d get from a well-tuned Atmos mix. Five separate drivers hide behind the fabric grille cover of the Echo Studio, arranged in different directions to provide Dolby Atmos-compatible positional audio. A 5.25-inch woofer fires downward from just above the bass ports, a one-inch tweeter fires directly forward, and three two-inch midrange drivers fire left, right, and directly upward. The woofer provides the low-end, while the tweeter and three midrange drivers all work in tandem with each other to create a sound field with more precise (and more vertical) imaging than a set of stereo speakers. All five drivers are driven by a peak total of 330 watts. Meanwhile, frequency range extension technology has been implemented with the aim of improving mid-range clarity and delivering deeper bass. Of course, only time will tell how much difference these technical-sounding improvements make to audio quality.

Update: now the device has officially 'launched' there's an option to turn off the upmixing by going into Device Settings > Echo Studio > Audio Settings and then flipping the toggle. Be ready for a jump in volume when you do.] Alternatively, as pictured above, you can create a stereo pair with two Echo Studios, placing them either side of your TV and creating that standard central sweet-spot between them. Although it doesn’t quite match the HomePod for outright sound quality, the Echo Studio delivers a bigger and more immersive sound than any Echo speaker to date, while offering many features that Apple’s similarly shaped smart speaker is crying out for. The Echo Studio can also upmix other music to 3D on its own, but the effect isn't nearly as prominent or capable. And, of course, there are still limits to what a single speaker can do, even if it has drivers pumping out sound in all directions. (unknown) Performance As ever with virtualized surround sound, we're not of the mind set to consider it more impactful than having discrete physical speaker channels above and behind you, hooked up to a AV receiver. But that's a huge expense, and not practical for all living room arrangements, making the powerful Echo Studio an impressive value option.